{"id":163,"date":"2013-12-03T12:44:12","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T04:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.www.innovationiseverywhere.com\/?p=163"},"modified":"2013-12-03T12:44:12","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T04:44:12","slug":"real-time-stock-price-african-farmers-case-study-connected-agriculture-m-farm-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/real-time-stock-price-african-farmers-case-study-connected-agriculture-m-farm-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-time stock price for African farmers: a case study of connected agriculture with M-Farm in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

M-Farm<\/a>\u00a0is a\u00a0startup which connects and empowers agriculture farmers with financial information<\/strong>.\u00a0There are three reasons why we are showcasing them.<\/p>\n

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  1. Firstly, we’re not focusing only on web technologies during\u00a0our world tour of innovation. <\/strong>We’ve tried to showcase stories about\u00a0universities in the UK<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0healthcare in Iran<\/a>\u00a0to cover a diverse array of exciting innovations.<\/li>\n
  2. Secondly, we’re in\u00a0Kenya<\/strong>, a country with a fondness for technology. That M-Farm address a pressing local need with such ingenuity is a plus point.<\/li>\n
  3. Last but not least, it’s\u00a0the magic of\u00a0iHub<\/a><\/strong>, the community tech space of Nairobi, to be able to chat with a plethora of entrepreneurs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Martin<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    M-Farm serves Kenya’s pressing need: More efficient agriculture<\/h2>\n

    Agriculture<\/strong>\u00a0presents both a problem and a huge opportunity for Africa. To win the fight against malnourishment,\u00a0African countries must be able to sell produce at the right price<\/strong>\u00a0(especially when they compete against subsidized economies such as Europe of the US) and improve their efficiency.<\/p>\n

    The\u00a0African Union<\/strong>\u00a0had its members\u00a0pledge to allocate 10% of their budget to agriculture<\/a>. In several countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Niger and Senegal) this target has been reached and even exceeded.\u00a0But in Kenya, a mere 5% is allocated<\/strong>\u00a0even though 30% of kids under 5 are still malnourished.<\/p>\n

    \"Martin<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    How M-Farm Works<\/h2>\n

    M-Farm\u00a0connects small-scale farmers in Kenya (STAT) to the price of crops in real-time<\/strong>. The app, accessible through SMS (as is MPesa), consists of two features:<\/p>\n

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    1. Price info<\/strong>: it gives information on the prices of 47 products<\/strong>\u00a0such as peas, sugar snaps, avocado, passion fruit, peanuts, potatoes, cassava and mango sin in\u00a05 markets<\/strong>\u00a0(Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale)<\/li>\n
    2. Group selling:<\/strong>\u00a0an advanced feature, which allows an agent to aggregate demand and supply of Central Kenya Farmers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      MFarm is connected to\u00a0Mpesa<\/a>, Kenya’s mobile money system, which allows unbanked farmers to manage their revenues easily<\/strong>\u00a0(connecting a bank account is also possible).<\/p>\n